Related to this point, there’s a lot of gamesmanship that takes place when cars are held on what we call the dummy grid before a race. Engineers such as myself take the opportunity to have a look at other cars. Mechanics, when they see a senior engineer from an opposing team – e.g. me – in the vicinity, will swarm around their car, attempting to obscure the bit I’m looking at. Ferrari, in particular, are a veritable hive of activity when I wander in their direction. As a result, what I do is amble towards a section of the car I’m not particularly interested in, thus attracting the mechanics my
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